


A Heart Opened

by Mischel



Series: Merlin Memory Month 2019 [1]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Fighting, Gen, Kinda, M/M, Magic, Merlin Memory Month, Merthur - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-02
Updated: 2019-05-02
Packaged: 2020-02-16 02:45:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 868
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18682546
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mischel/pseuds/Mischel
Summary: The moment that Arthur falls in love with Merlin for the first time.(Written for the Merlin Memory Month on tumblr.)





	A Heart Opened

**Author's Note:**

> Merlin Memory Month is a prompt fest on Tumblr to celebrate the show. Basically, there are 9 posting days and each has three prompts. I'll try to write a short fanfic for each posting day. They should be all standalone, but I also tried to connect them a little bit (they're not written yet though, so we'll see).
> 
> PROMPT DAY 1  
> path 1 - Contrasts and/or Similarities  
> path 2 - Emotion/Mood/Aesthetic: Mighty  
> path 3 - A heart opened / A heart broken
> 
> \- For this fanfic I used the prompts "contrasts", "mighty" and "a heart opened". I hope you'll enjoy it! :)

It had been a week since Merlin finally came clean and told Arthur that he had magic and Arthur had yet to see any display of Merlin's magical abilities. It had also been a very busy week, so there simply had been no time for any magic tricks and to be honest Arthur was surprised Merlin even chose to tell him his secret. They'd been close friends for many years now, and even though it certainly hadn't been easy for Arthur to come to terms with the fact that Merlin had been lying to him, in the end he chose to accept him and to not tell his father. He didn't even really have a choice in that matter because what would his father do? He'd order to execute Merlin immediately, and Arthur simply couldn't lose him.

The busy week climaxed on a Saturday when a nearby kingdom decided Camelot was too weak to defend itself after Morgana had betrayed them because Uther spent all of his days in his chair, barely moving. So there he was, in a forest near the Camelot borders, fighting for his life, killing one enemy knight after another.

Merlin was naturally by his side, not ever leaving him and presumably using his magic to get rid of the enemies subtly here and there - something that only now Arthur started to realize Merlin had been doing for years.

But there was a lot of enemy soldiers and not quite that many of Camelot knights. Arthur looked around and only spotted Merlin and two other knights fighting nearby, slowly moving farther away from them. The rest of their knights must have stayed fighting in the field behind the trees then.

Swords clashed together and with gritted teeth, Arthur defended Camelot. But it only took one short moment of hesitation when his eyes caught glimpse of Merlin's hands glowing, and his sword was knocked out of his grip, landing too far away from him.

Arthur's eyes widened as the knight he was fighting grinned and used his leg to trip Arthur up - and the crowned prince of Camelot found himself on the ground, unarmed and surprised.

Naturally, he reached for his dagger, but he wasn't fast enough and the sword almost pierced him if he hadn't quickly moved out of its way. His dagger flew out of his hand and his shoulder hit a huge rock - there was nowhere else to go.

His eyes widened as he stared death in the face.

Then he heard a voice, piercing through the deafening sound of his heartbeat.

"Arthur!"

And there he was. His saviour, a sorcerer - Merlin. Arthur didn't even have the time to comprehend what was happening when he saw a fireball hit the knight into his chest, making him lose balance and fall over.

It all happened in a second.

The time almost seemed to slow down as Arthur turned his head to look at Merlin, who was now standing next to him, his arms prepared to strike again, his eyes glowing bright gold and his chest heaving with deep determined breaths. He looked angry as he was looking at the knight, but the man wasn't moving anymore. He might have even been dead, slain by magic in a land where magic was outlawed. Merlin's face turned into worry as his eyes found Arthur's. The sun illuminated his hair, half of his face and his eyes that slowly turned back to blue, and if Arthur was being completely honest, at that moment, Merlin looked like an angel.

He was someone else. He wasn't his weak but smart and friendly servant, he was a powerful,  _mighty_  sorcerer who was ready to kill just to save Arthur - a mere prince compared to the power that Merlin wielded. There were many princes in the world, but looking at Merlin at that moment, Arthur was sure that there was only one Merlin in the entire universe.

And he chose to be  _here._  Out of all the places where he could have chosen to live, he chose  _Camelot_. He chose to serve him and help him and stay here even though the slightest mistake could end up killing him. He risked his life every day and every minute, and for what? For him?

"Are you alright?" Merlin stepped closer to him and offered his hand.

Arthur stared at him, unblinking, admiring the new person that was in front of him - a person that Merlin chose to reveal to him. The most loyal and selfless person in the world.

He nodded. "Yeah."

He took Merlin's hand and squeezed, getting up from the ground. Merlin smiled at him then as he let go of his hand. "Let's save Camelot then." He nodded at him and turned around, facing more knights, fighting alongside Arthur.

And Arthur just stood there, his chest filling up with this warm feeling of gratitude, admiration and  _love_. This was a moment that would change his life forever, and he was slowly realizing just that, as he watched his friend fight for him and their kingdom without any fear.

Arthur picked up his sword from the ground and with a smile, ran to help Merlin save Camelot. Their home.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you liked the fic! Please consider leaving a comment, thanks! Another fanfic should come out this Sunday :)


End file.
